"It's basic French. Repeat after me. Bonjour, mon nom est Theo." I coaxed Theo. We were working on our French homework. I don't know how he was having such a hard time. This was so easy.
"Okay, I'm done. I'll just Google it later." He huffed out. I rolled my eyes and got out of my bed. I walked to the kitchen and got an apple. I heard Theo's foot steps behind me. "You know, French isn't that hard to learn."
"You say that because you speak French." He stated. I turned to face him. I didn't realize how close we were. We stared at each other for what felt like hours. I looked down at the floor and ducked around him.
I made my way to the living room and got the remote. I turned on the TV. I saw Theo walk toward the bathroom. I flipped through the channels while I heard the shower turn on. I laid down and started to watch the movie that I turned on.
While I watched the TV I worked on my homework. Right when I finished my last question on my chem homework, I heard the shower shut off. My eyes snapped up to the door. Part of me wanted to see Theo come out of there in a towel, and another part wanted him to stay in there.
God, what was wrong with me. He is just my friend, who is living in my house, and hanging out with me all the time, and is taking a shower right now in the next room. I need to stop. I needed to get some air.
I stood and walked over to the bathroom door. When I was about to knock. Theo opened the door. We both jumped back from the surprise. I fell back but he caught my hand before I hit the ground.
He pulled me up and put his hands on my waist to steady me. I looked down and felt the heat rise to my cheeks. I met his eyes and my cheeks grew more hot. When I couldn't take the staring anymore I looked down and saw that he was only in his towel.
I backed out of his grip. "I'm j-just going o-out for a walk." I cleared my throat and nodded to him as I walked backwards to get to the door. I slipped on my shoes and put on my jacket. I walked out the door leaving Theo standing in the bathroom doorway in his towel.
I took the steps down. When I walked out the door, I felt the cold rain on my hot skin. I was still blushing from my encounter with Theo. I couldn't possibly like Theo.
He's a complete jack ass. But he is nice to you.
Shut up, brain. I don't like Theo. I cant like Theo. No one likes Theo. Even though he is super hot, no one wants to be around Theo. He's not nice to anyone but his friends.
I kept making a list of reasons why I couldn't like Theo. For every reason, my brain kept telling me that it didn't matter. God, my brain is dumb.
While I made a list of problems, I found myself walking to my spot in the woods. I looked out over the city. The sun was setting now and it looked absolutely beautiful. The sun was casting shadows of the trees.
I sat down where Theo had been just hours ago. Why do I feel like this. I hate feeling like this. I hate this feeling. I hate feelings in general. This is why I shut people out at other schools. I just focused on my school work.
Why am I now starting to get friends. It's because Roe isn't here to tell me not too. I told myself. Roe being gone is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I'm getting to eat properly now. I'm not getting beat. I'm having fun now. I'm actually smiling a real smile.
Maybe its not Roe being gone. It might just be Theo. My brain told me. I sighed, knowing she was right. Theo does make me happy. Not only does Theo make me happy, but Hailey, Sydney, Racheal, Cole. They all make me happy. But mostly Theo.
You do like Theo. My brain said.
"I know." I sighed to myself. I stood and looked out at the town again. This town is much better than my town back in Wyoming and I think it's the people I hang out with now.
It was dark now and the moon was high in the sky. I knew where I was going though. I walked down the side of the hill when I heard someone call my name. "Paige!" I heard Theo calling. I smiled to myself.
"Yeah?" I looked around and spotted him standing on the other side of stream. A look of relief washed over his face. The smile was still on my face.
"I was worried. You ran out of the apartment and you were gone for a few hours." I nodded and walked over to him. "I'm fine. I just needed to clear my head. We should head back now." I responded and started to walk back.
Theo caught up with me grabbed my hand. I looked up at him but he didn't look back. He just stared straight forward. I smiled to myself and continued walking.
*Theo's POV*
I sat on the couch, trying to focus on the TV show but I couldn't. Paige left over an hour ago after she saw me in the bathroom doorway.
It's hard not to worry about someone you think about nonstop.
When I saw her that night at the gas station, I thought I had a new target to tease. But when I found out she was going through the same things I went through, I knew I had to help her.
The first time I stayed at her apartment it wasn't just so my mother wouldn't find out about the fight. I wanted to make sure she wasn't getting hurt anymore. I was using the fight as an excuse.
Since my mom is working night shifts and my step father is out of town, I've been staying with Paige. I guess I'm just drawn to her. I hate that I've found feeling for her. I was just supposed to tease her.
I finally had enough of worrying and decided to do something about it. I slipped on my shoes and made my way out of the apartment complex. I started to walk down the street when a thought hit me.
She's probably in the woods.
I walked to the woods and walked to trail she showed me that day. When I made it to the stream I yelled out her name. I felt the relief wash over me when she responded. "Yeah?" I looked over and found her standing on the other side of the stream.
"I was worried. You ran out of the apartment and were gone for hours." I said trying to make this situation less awkward. I saw a small smile tug on her lips. She walked over to me and stood in front of me.
"I'm fine. I just needed to clear my head. We should head back now." She stated and started to walk back to the entrance of the woods.
I don't know what came over me, but I reached out for her hand. I picked up my pace and caught up with her. We walked hand in hand back to the apartment.
I saw out of the side of my vision, she was looking at me. I didn't look down at her because if I did I would let go of her hand.
I wish these feelings would go away. I've only known her for a few weeks. I shouldn't be feeling like this but I do and I like it. Why do I like it? I shake the thoughts from my head and try to forget about the feeling.
We walk into the living room of her apartment and I sit on the couch. "I'm going to shower." She says and walks back to the bathroom. I hear the water turn on and I listen to her as she sings softly.
I can barely make out the words to a song by Artic Monkeys. I smile as she reaches the end of the song. She starts to sing another song when the someone knocks on the door.
I furrow my brows as I walk over to see who is at the door. I see some guy in his late twenties. He has a few cuts on his face and a few bruises.
He knocks again and walk back to the bathroom. I bang on the door and Paige immediately stops singing. "What?" She sounds a little startled. I open the door and face away from the shower. "Theo, What the Hell! Get out!" She screeches.
I chuckle and say, "Some guy is at the door. I didn't want to answer incase you don't know who it is." I wait for a reply.
"It's probably Rick." She mutters and shuts off the water. I walk out of the bathroom and back to her room.
I hear footsteps after a few seconds. The front door opens and I faintly hear Paige whisper a name.
"Chad?"
*Paige's POV*
I slip into my PJ's I brought with me into the bathroom. Who could be at the door at this time of night. It had to be Rick.
I walk to the door and open it without looking through the peep hole. I feel all the blood drain from my face. I see Chad give me a evil smirk. "Chad?" I mutter breathlessly.
"Hi Paige. Why did it take you so long to answer the door?" He asked clearly annoyed. Oh no.
"I'm sorry, I was showering. How is Roe?" I try to direct to topic off me. I hope it works. His facial features harden and his eyes grow darker.
"She's still a bitch and she's still in the hospital. She wont be out for a while so I will be here till she wakes up." He says smugly. I just want to crawl in the darkest pit and lay there for a few days, maybe weeks.
He pushes past me and into the living room. He flops on the couch and flips through the channels. What the hell am I going to do? Theo is still in my room. How am I supposed to get him out?
"I have s-school tomorrow so I'm going to bed." I start to walk back to my room when he opens his mouth again. "I look forward to spending the next few weeks with you, Paige." I now want to crawl into that pit for a few years now.
I walk into my room with my finger on my lips. I silence Theo immediately and sit next to him. Chad's here. I say under my breath. Theo doesn't look shocked, he probably heard us. He nods looks forwards.
"That's Roe's boyfriend?" I nod and lay back on my bed. I huff and stare at the ceiling.
"We have to find a way to get you out of here." He snaps his eyes down to my and shakes his head no. "Theo, I can't let Chad find you in here."
"I'm not leaving you here with him. Either I'm staying or you are coming to my house." He demands. His statement sends butterflies through my stomach. I bite my lip to hold back my smile. Even in this situation, Theo still makes me smile.
I close my eyes and go over my options. First, I can sneak out. I will most likely get caught. Second, I can just ask to leave. Chad probably wont let me leave but it cant hurt to try. If he says no we can just move on to third, which is locking my door and Theo can just stay with me.
I nod, mostly to reassure myself before walking out the door. I carefully walk out into the living room and see Chad still watching his TV show. "Chad," I say quietly. "Can I go stay at a friends house." He turns to look at me and gives me a weird look, then he chuckles humorlessly.
"No, sunshine. I'm not letting you leave." He stands and walks over to me. "Not when I just got here." He brings his hand up to caress my cheek. I flinch away from his touch which makes him angry.
He brings his hand just inches from my face and rears back. His hand comes forward with such force and slaps me in the face. I bring my hand up to hold my cheek. I close my eyes feel the tears well up in my eyes.
"You wont flinch away from me. Roe is in the hospital so I guess you will have to do." He roughly grabs my hand and pulls me towards his bedroom. I fight against his grip and start to hit his back. He pushes me into the wall hard and I hit the floor.
I see Theo behind Chad and it brings hope to me. Chad is still looking at me with a smug grin.
Theo grabs his neck from behind and bashes his head into the wall. When Chad turns to see who attacked him. Chad wiped his nose where the blood had dripped down onto his lips.
Theo didn't give him much of a chance to fight back, before he delivered a bone crushing punch to Chads cheek. Chad fell backwards and hit his head hard on the floor before he passed out cold.
Theo rushed over to me and offered me his hand. He took my shaking hand and walked us back to the bedroom. "Pack your clothes." He demanded in a scary tone. A tone that I didn't dare to question.
I grabbed my bag and started to get some clothes. I packed two outfits and my makeup. I'm sure I'll need to conceal the bruise tomorrow. The last thing I pack before I put on my converse is my tooth brush and tooth paste.
When I put on the helmet, Theo starts up the motorcycle and heads off into the night. I shouldn't be happy right now, but I am. I'm going to stay at Theo's house. I know nothing is going to happen. Curse these stupid feelings.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
Thank you for reading. I hope you are enjoying Drowning in Chaos so far. I'm going to posting a casts page in a few hours, but if you already characters in mind you don't have to look at it. This is just who I imagine is in my story.
Please vote and comment.
XOXO
- xC76x